18 Facts About Angela Hartnett

Angela Maria Hartnett was born on September 1968 and is an English Michelin-starred chef.

Angela Hartnett was born in Merseyside to Patrick Hartnett, an Irish sailor in the Merchant Navy, and Giuliana Pesci, whose parents had migrated from Bardi in Emilia-Romagna to Ferndale in the Rhondda Valley, part of a substantial Welsh Italian community.

Angela Hartnett's father died when she was seven years old.

Angela Hartnett's mother moved the young family to Upminster in Outer London to be closer to both sets of grandparents.

At 18, Hartnett went to Italy for a year to work as an au pair before graduating with a degree in history at Cambridge Polytechnic.

Angela Hartnett supported Ramsay at Zafferano and L'Oranger, then joining Wareing as his sous chef at Petrus.

In 2003, Angela Hartnett got the 'Best Newcomer Award' and the SquareMeal Guides' BMW Best New Restaurant award for the two restaurants at the Connaught.

Angela Hartnett made her first television appearance in the first series of ITV1's Hell's Kitchen.

In 2015, Angela Hartnett took part in the final episode, and oversaw the final task for MasterChef UK.

Just before the Connaught hotel closed for restoration in mid-2007, Angela Hartnett published her first book, Cucina: Three Generations of Italian Family Cooking; while it was closed she was seen on BBC's Kitchen Criminals and Take on the Takeaway.

Gordon Ramsay Holdings Ltd agreed to cease their contract with the Connaught Hotel in September 2007, and in August 2008 Angela Hartnett launched Murano, a fine-dining Italian restaurant in Mayfair.

Angela Hartnett created Cafe Murano, a more relaxed setting, in St James in November 2013 and a further site in Covent Garden in July 2015, alongside Pastificio, a deli-cafe, wine bar and pasta factory, making fresh pasta for the restaurants every four hours.

From January to March 2016, Angela Hartnett presented Tomorrow's Food alongside Dara O Briain, Chris Bavin and Dr Shini Somara.

In 2020, Angela Hartnett joined Bavin and Mary Berry as a judge on the BBC One reality cooking show Best Home Cook, replacing series one judge Dan Doherty.

Angela Hartnett was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire in the 2007 New Year Honours for services to the hospitality industry and Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the 2022 New Year Honours for services to the hospitality industry and to the National Health Service during the Covid-19 response.

Angela Hartnett owned a Jack Russell called Alfie that she rescued from Battersea Dogs Home in 2007, and has a beagle named Otis that was previously owned by her sister.

Angela Hartnett spends a holiday every year in Bardi, the town from where most of the Welsh-based Italian families can trace their roots.

Angela Hartnett is an avid football fan and supports Arsenal FC based in North London.